From Bandcamp, “DEADFORM’s debut album emerges as a critical fusion of punk and metal that comprises and compliments the previous projects of its three members; LAUDANUM, STORMCROW and DYSTOPIA…to name a few. “Entrenched in Hell” follows up their 2022 self-titled demo with emerging themes of war, cults, famine and mortality that evoke a more personal attachment to the subject matter. This album is many things and a convergence of seemingly incompatible genres but has become greater than the sum of those parts. Those parts are heavy, chugging and drenched in distortion while still allowing the music to breathe, showcasing the decades of songwriting experience shared by the trio. Is it Crust? Is it Metal ? Is it Punk? Is it Hardcore? Though difficult to neatly categorize, DEADFORM are undeniably Oakland to their core.”

The album has six songs, and “Of Plagues” is first. Out of the gates, the production is noteworthy because if its inward feeling, like all of the mids were turned down. I don’t hear a lot of punk from the heavy, distorted riffs, and the harsh vocals are unlike anything that I have heard before. They are akin to the musings of a dying man. “As Above so Below” is a bit looser in sound, following a good deal of distortion, feedback, and chaotic leads. It eventually settles into a slow and heavy grind, but that is not before a lot of territory was covered. “The Exit” has a slow, dark entrance and more raspy and sometimes shouted vocals. This time, a deep depression sets in and you don’t even feel much like moving.

“Peacekeeper” begins with an old school modem starting up to connect, and then, white noise. It another slow and depressive grind where the misery never seems to end. “Misery” take the term to an entire other level. The pattern of the songs seems similar from one track to the next, first, and innocuous opener, then chaos, and in this case, more rousing despondence, if that makes sense. “Fetid Breath” closes the album, and it has a Thrashy groove based on the low E chord. It gallops forward, like Death riding his pale horse out of the abyss and onto the Earth for the first time in centuries.

There are some odd elements on the album, and that is sometimes what you can when you cross different genres like the aforementioned four from the biography. It’s out of the box thinking, which I always appreciate, and it’s probably something that all Metalheads should hear at least once, to see what direction some bands  takes genre mashups.